Pirates of the Caribbean 5

[Mesabi]

So I finally got around to seeing the movie, and I got to say, the critics are being unfair. First off let's face it, it's nowhere as good as the original or the second and third. But it still is a decent movie. The critics claim that it rips off from the other movies, especially with the whole 

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Barbossa having a daughter thing, because that's somehow like Angelica and Blackbeard, even though they have no real similarities other than being daughters of a character.

They also claim in rips off from the other movies, which I didn't really see. I mean, it's like any other movie series, they're after a macguffin, it has ships like the other movies, and the characters are predictable. Just like Star Wars, and Marvel. 

My two main criticisms with the movie are that it under uses some characters, and that it doesn't have the convoluted "Everyone has an opposing agenda" theme. Everyone is after the macguffin/ Jack Sparrow, and so everyone's agenda is the same. 

But it's a decent movie, I mean it's good entertainment. And if it was a stand alone movie, I think it would have gotten much better reviews.

[Kintobor]

So, I saw the film yesterday, and... well...

Spoiler

It was pretty solid. Nothing too spectacular, but again, I find that a lot of the later Pirates films parts are greater than the whole thing, and even then, some parts just felt misplaced. That whole wedding scene on the beach was... a thing that happened. It had some funny lines, but what did it really add to the movie? I'm glad Barbossa showed up and capped that scene off just about how I would want to if I was there, but that scene could've easily been replaced somehow with a more cohesive way of getting Jack and Barbossa together. There's more stuff that just felt needless: that one British naval officer whose ship gets completely stomped by Salazar, and that cameo by Paul McCartney being chief among them, although at least McCartney got some of the most memorable lines in the movie.

Quite a bit of the Gore Vorbinksi charm is missing, although the guillotine and execution set piece was honestly the closest it came to feeling like one of the first three. Seeing Jack swung around on the support beam while straddled into the death machine as the blade swung back and forth, ever so close to removing his head from the rest of his body, as Depp is screaming his head off was utterly ridiculous as well as knuckle bearing, and I loved it. The bank heist was also pretty good, although I wish the camera stayed on Sparrow and company's antics as they dragged this bank by horses through the city of St. Martin, and not on the other characters.

I actually didn't hate Sparrow as much as others seem to have. This is a washed up, has been, out of his prime Jack, so his drunken stupor through half the film was tolerable in my mind. I also enjoyed Bardem's portrayal of Salazar. He was campy and a little goofy, but threatening and had a sense of menace to him that drove him through the movie up until the finale.

Speaking of finales, that last action set piece was incredible. Performances were good all around, but Geoffrey Rush rode Barbossa through that thing like the badass he is, straddling that anchor down to the depths of the sea floor like he had everything to lose. His final act, and dialogue in the film, was perfect. To see Barbossa start from one place in this series to his final act of sacrifice was incredible. A self centred, morally ambiguous character who performs one last act to ensure the safety of the child he loves. In a lot of ways, Barbossa killing Salazar mirrors Barbossa killing his old self. He steps out of his shadow of greed and self interest and saves the one treasure he cares about more than anything else: his daughter. Meanwhile, Salazar's single mindedness, leaving his own crew behind in order to chase Sparrow and send him to his grave, is opposite of what Barbossa does. Perhaps I'm thinking too deeply into this, but I adore that scene to bits.

Barbossa: "I've gotcha!"
Corina: *seeing the tattoo on Barbossa's arm* "Who am I to you?"
Barbossa: "Treasure."

The best line in the movie, ladies and gentlemen. To me, Barbossa was the highlight of every Pirates of the Caribbean film, and to see his departure left me in legitimate tears. I'll probably talk about this movie some more on the forums, but I'm happy with what I got. Definitely worth seeing at a matinee.

 

[BrickG]

Boring, ridiculous movie. I really wanted to take a nap during the action sequences.